


Welcome to the Enchanted Forest

by prissygirl



Series: Seven Days of Rumbelle Fic [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dinner theater, F/M, Prompt Verse, Rumbelle - Freeform, Rumbelle AU - Freeform, Seven Days of Rumbelle Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2018-04-21 07:15:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4820162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prissygirl/pseuds/prissygirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mr. Gold has been working for the dinner theater company “The Enchanted Forest” for years, performing the same old shows to the same old crowds every weekend. Nothing has ever changed, until the day Belle French joins the cast to play its princess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Reginald Gold stared up at the giant banner hung across the front of the large stone building.

In large, old-fashioned script were the words “Welcome to the Enchanted Forest.”

He had been greeted by that sign – or one of its many predecessors – five days a week for longer than he cared to admit.

Gold had been performing with the Enchanted Forest Dinner Theater for nearly ten years now. He played the role of the king’s right-hand man, the Lord Chancellor, who was always revealed halfway through the show to be a traitor in league with a neighboring kingdom.

Like so many days before, he arrived at work, coffee in hand. Though the script and plot of each theater season was tweaked a bit from the last, his role had remained largely unchanged for seven or eight years now. Occasionally he would do a bit of improv to mix things up, particularly if the crowd was receptive. Those nights were always his favorite. Most of the cast preferred to stick with the script, but their princess of four years, Regina Mills, shared his flair for the dramatic. The two had played off each other well.

But now that Regina was leaving the show, Gold saw the rest of the season stretch out grimly before him. About two years ago, Regina had begun dating Robin Loxley, a fellow cast member who played one of the four knights of the king’s court. They had gotten married last summer and were now expecting their first child.

Regina had threated to name the child after Gold if it was a boy. He had always hated his first name – a fact which Regina was more than aware of. He had told her, in no uncertain terms, that he would be praying for a girl.

Though she would no longer be in the show, Regina had been hired on to do some office work for the company. But without her on stage, there was no one left in the cast who Gold felt he could play off of anymore. The rest of the actors played their characters straight, apart from Jefferson Carroll, whose character Sir Gavin was a particular favorite with the crowd, if only for the fact that Jefferson seemed incapable of not hamming it up in front of an audience. He was a particular favorite with the ladies – as well as the occasional gentleman.

Gold waved these thoughts away as he made his way through the building to the practice room. None of it would matter soon anyway, he reminded himself.

Today was a new beginning for him. Today was the day everything was going to change.

Today was the day he was going to quit.

Gold was 48-years-old. He knew it was now or never if he wanted to try something new. He and Regina had enjoyed a good rapport on stage, but without her to challenge him, he didn’t see any good reason for him to stay.

The owner of the theater, Sidney Glass, had talked him out of quitting many times over the years. But today, he had promised himself he wouldn’t budge. He was handing in his two weeks’ notice and that was it. The letter was currently burning a hole through his jacket pocket. He couldn’t wait until rehearsal was over and he’d be able to turn it in.

It was for the best anyway, he mused. A new actress was coming in that morning to rehearse with them as the princess. By the time Gold’s two weeks were up, she would be all settled into the role, and the company would be able to focus on working with the actor that would take over his character. 

Gold swung open the heavy wooden door to the practice room and walked inside, glancing about as he made his way to his usual seat. Most of the other actors had already arrived. Jefferson was telling Robin and David Nolan, another one of their knights, how many phone numbers he had gotten from infatuated fans after their evening show last Sunday. Leo Blanchard, their king of five years, was staring at his phone intently. His brows furrowed as he tried yet again to beat what Gold could only guess was the most recent level of Angry Birds, his newest addiction. Sixteen-year-old Henry Swan, who had just become a squire this past year, sat next to him, calling out directions as Leo glared at the screen. Gold had no doubt that Henry had been the one to introduce Leo to the game in the first place.

Unlike the other teenage boys that often got jobs as squires with the production, Henry often attended the practices, since his mother, Emma, was the company’s falconer. Gold’s eyes shifted to where Emma was trying to grab a bagel from the breakfast table while ignoring their fourth knight, Killian Jones, as he tried to make small talk with her. He’d been trying to get Emma to go out with him for months. From the annoyed way that she was currently tearing apart her bagel, Gold was pretty sure the man wasn’t making any progress.

Just looking at the man made Gold grit his teeth. He and Killian had been working together for three years now, but he didn’t like the man any more now than he did when he first met him.

It hadn’t helped that the man had slept with Gold’s fiancé, Milah, during his first few weeks at the show. At the time, Milah had been working as a bartender at the theater’s bar. She had quit shortly after Gold had discovered the affair. He had hoped Killian would leave as well, but the man had settled in comfortably and seemed to have no plans to leave anytime soon.

They were civil to each other when they needed to be, but being rid of Killian’s greasy smile would be yet another happy result of his leaving the company.

“Alright, gather round.” Their director and head writer, August Booth, walked into the room, motioning for them to come together. A young woman, with dark hair and a petite frame followed him, looking around a bit hesitantly.

“I want you all to give a warm welcome to our new princess, Belle French.” August motioned her forward. Belle smiled and gave a small wave to the group.

August began introducing the rest of the cast one by one, telling Belle their roles in the show. Belle shook hands with each person, blushing slightly when Jefferson kissed the back of her hand.

“Settle down, Jefferson,” August warned. “I don’t need another lawsuit.”

Jefferson frowned, looking slightly offended. “That was Killian.” He straightened the collar on his shirt. “I’ll have you know that I never go after members of the audience.” He gave Belle a wink. “They’re too busy coming after me.”

Gold rolled his eyes. As active as Jefferson’s libido was, he wouldn’t be surprised if the man turned out to have a long-lost child out there somewhere.

Finally, August got around to Gold. “And this curmudgeon here is Gold, our Lord Chancellor.”

“Nice to meet you,” Gold said, extending his hand.

He was taken by surprise when Belle grasped it excitedly. The gentle smile she had given everyone else was now replaced with a bright grin. “I – I know who you are,” she said, pumping his hand enthusiastically. Her hands were warm and Gold found himself distracted by how very soft they were. “I hope this doesn’t sound too silly, but you’re actually the reason I started acting.”

Gold found himself taken aback. “Really?”

“Yes, I saw one of your shows when I was in high school. I was really captivated by how you played the chancellor with his ulterior motives and…well, it inspired me to try acting myself. I – “

Belle seemed to realize she was still holding his hand just then. She let out an embarrassed laugh and let go.

“I’m so glad you’re still with the company. I can’t wait to work you.”

Gold nodded, still unsure of how to reply. His character had always been fairly popular with the crowds, often having a line of people after the show waiting to take their picture with the evil Lord Chancellor.

But this definitely felt different. It felt rather nice, in fact. 

“Well, we’re happy to have you,” he finally managed to say after a few moments.

They stared at each other for a few seconds longer, before August cleared his throat. “Okay then.” He clapped his hands together, getting the attention of the others who had fallen into conversation. “Let’s start rehearsal.”

Belle shot him one last smile before walking off with August to get a script.

Around him, everyone else started pulling up chairs and getting ready for practice.

Gold found himself standing there uncertainly for a moment, the hand Belle had shaken flexing unconsciously. If he didn’t know any better, he’d swear he could still feel the touch of her hand on his skin.

He glanced over to where Belle had taken a seat, right next to his usual chair. She glanced back at him shyly before burying her nose in the script.

Gold felt the weight of his resignation letter in his pocket. He reached a hand in and closed his fingers around the envelope. For some reason, he felt less certain about leaving now.

After all, Belle had only just started. It wouldn’t really be fair to abandon his post so immediately after her arrival.

Perhaps he would stay another month.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LicieOIC prompted: Gold finds Belle in the horse stable. Cue some getting to know each other!

Practice was going well. Or at least, Gold thought it was. He wasn’t really paying attention very well.

He kept finding his eyes straying towards the young woman sitting in the chair next to him, quickly glancing away again when he’d see her looking back at him under her long eyelashes. He’d never been great at first impressions and he didn’t want her to think he was checking her out. Or worse, leering at her like a pervert.

Gold would leave those two activities to Jefferson and Killian, respectively.

Despite it being her first read-through, Belle seemed at ease with the group almost immediately. Her energy and excitement seemed infectious, and it made their same old routine seem new and fresh.

That’s the only excuse he had for why he nearly missed his lines a couple times. The presence of someone new was clearly throwing off the regular rhythm of the show.

It was easy to tell himself that he was merely interested in her as a newcomer, wanting to see how she would change the dynamics between the other players.

It was harder to admit that all of that was a bunch of bull and he was really just dying of curiosity about his new coworker.

Gold knew he did his job well. But he had never heard someone say that his performance had such a profound effect on them that they actually took up acting.

If he hadn’t felt so out of his element, he probably would have been feeling rather smug about it.

Before Gold could think about it any further, practice came to an end. As everyone began getting up to continue the rest of their day, he turned towards Belle, hoping to learn a bit more about her.

Purely for professional reasons, he reassured himself.

“So, what brings you to the Enchanted Forest?” he asked. Belle raised an eyebrow and he winced. “That came out wrong.”

Belle giggled. “It did sound a bit like a pick-up line the evil chancellor would use.”

He waved her comment off, shaking his head. “Nah, he’s rubbish with women.”

Belle laughed even harder this time. Gold decided he liked the sound of it.

He cleared his throat. “I guess what I meant to ask was, what drew you to medieval dinner theater? It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, you know.”

A faint blush started to spread across Belle’s cheeks. “Well, actually – “

“Gold, stop flirting with my new ingénue,” August interrupted from across the room. He beckoned to Belle. “Come with me. Wardrobe needs to get your measurements.”

The glare that Gold sent August had no effect on the younger man, who ignored him. Gold refrained from looking at Belle as she got up and left with their director, deciding he had no interest in seeing the look of horror on her face which would no doubt accompany such a statement.

Belle may admire his acting abilities on the stage, but that didn’t mean she’d welcome his advances.

Not that he had any intentions of that sort, despite his unfortunate use of words earlier.

The day passed by quickly after that. The rest of the cast was as interested in Belle French as he was, and most conversations revolved around her.

“I think she has a thing for me,” Jefferson said as they ran through some of their sword fight choreography.

Gold snorted and parried Jefferson’s blow. “I don’t seem to remember her looking your way even once.”

“Exactly!” Jefferson smiled. “She’s playing hard to get.”

Biting back a groan, Gold broke their routine and reached out to swat the other man on the backside with his sword.

“Belle French is a charming and beautiful young woman,” Gold said. “She’s way out of your league.”

He saw Jefferson’s eyes light up. “Well well, that _is_ interesting.”

“What’s interesting?”

“You _like_ her.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You do!” Jefferson danced around in glee. “I’ve been waiting ages for you to join the land of the living. Your equipment was in danger of falling off out of neglect, my friend.”

Gold groaned. “Is sex all that matters to you?”

Jefferson blinked at him innocently. “What else is there?”

With a roll of his eyes, Gold put his sword back in its scabbard. “I think we’ve practiced enough. I’m going to go check on my horse. At least she talks more sense than you do.”

Ignoring Jefferson’s knowing grin, he wandered off toward the stables.

All of the horses used in the show were housed in the stables at the back of the building. Each knight had a specific horse that they trained with and rode during the show. Gold definitely considered it one of the perks of working there. He couldn’t think of many other acting jobs where he’d get to ride so often. And there was certainly no way he could afford to keep a horse on his salary.

Gold walked up to his horse’s stall. A moment later, a large black head appeared over the half door.

“Hey there, Ogre.” He rubbed her head fondly. The horse nickered softly and butted gently against his hand in greeting.

He heard a soft laugh from behind him. A moment later, Belle stepped up alongside him.

“You named your horse Ogre?” She gave him a bemused smile. “I hope the horse doesn’t take it personally.”

He grinned in response. “She dwarfs the other horses, so I’m sure she knows she’s a bit of a beast.”

Belle gave him a mock look of reproof. “No lady wants to be told she’s fat.”

 “Well, I guess it shows you how little I understand women then.”

The moment the words left his lips, Gold felt like smacking himself. He still didn’t know Belle well enough to know if he _liked_ her – despite Jefferson’s accusations – but she was friendly and pretty and he really didn’t want to make an ass out of himself in front of her.

Fortunately, Belle didn’t laugh at him, though her eyes seemed to twinkle with amusement.

“I’m sure you’re underselling yourself. After all, women always fall for bad boys like the Chancellor.”

Gold snorted. “If they do, I have yet to meet any of them. They may like the Chancellor, but it’s me they’d have to go home with.”

Belle began to blush rather prettily and he realized he had once again put his foot in his mouth. He barely knew the woman and here he was talking about his sex life. Or rather, lack of one. No wonder she was embarrassed.

Trying to think of a different topic of conversation, he was saved by Ogre, who realized Gold wasn’t paying enough attention to her and let out a whinny. He chuckled.

“I’m sorry, girl. Was I neglecting you?” He scratched her behind the ear. When he glanced over at Belle, he noticed she was looking warily at the horse.

“Do you want to pet her?” he asked curiously.

“What?” Belle looked surprised. “Uh – I’m fine. I don’t really know anything about horses.”

“You choose a rather odd place to work then. You won’t work with one yourself, but you should at least be comfortable around them since they’re a big part of the show.” Gold offered his free hand to her. “I can show you, if you like.”

She gave him a hesitant smile but nodded. He took her hand in his own, guiding it up to Ogre’s forehead and gently running it down the horse’s nose a few times.

“See that? You’re a natural.”

The smile that she gave him made his heart twitch inside his chest. He let go of her hand.

“Well, you have the basics down now.” He cleared this throat awkwardly. “I should – um, get back to practice.”

“Thank you,” Belle said shyly. “I’m sure you’ll teach me a lot while I’m here.”

“I suppose I’ll try,” he said hastily. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ogre eyeing him intently. He had the oddest feeling that the horse was judging him. “I’ll see you around then, Belle.”

Before she could reply, he turned on his heel and walked out of the stable.

Next time he saw Jefferson, Gold was going to smack the idiot up the side of the head. Clearly the sex-crazed fool had put ideas into his head.

He had known Belle for less than a day. There was no way he could have developed a crush on her _that_ quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> B_does_the_write_thing prompted: During Belle's first fitting for her costume, Gold accidentally stumbles in on her in the dressing room.

It was finally the day of Belle’s first dress rehearsal. Practice had gone smoothly all week and Gold was confident that their rehearsal that night would go off without a hitch.

He had a bit of news he wanted to share with Belle before they started, so he walked down to the women’s dressing room where Emma had mentioned she had last seen Belle. There were several hours until the rehearsal began and he was sure he’d find her nose deep in one of the novels that she always brought to work.

Gold swung the door open, calling out before he’d even fully walked into the room. “Belle, I – “

A high-pierced shriek, followed by the yell of the costume designer, had him turning around and sprinting back through the doorway into the hall.

He let his head fall back against the cool wall as he willed his heart rate to slow. Despite the fact that it was a _dressing_ room, he hadn’t expected anyone to be undressed when he entered. Not that his intentions were going to save him in this situation, he realized.

It wasn’t like he had seen that much – just a slim pale shoulder as Cruella had been slipping a velvet, floor-length green dress onto Belle.

He should have knocked, Gold scolded himself. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why in the world he hadn’t done that in the first place.

The temptation to bolt was strong, but he knew he owed Belle an apology. Besides, he still needed to talk to her, though he wasn’t relishing that conversation much now. She wasn’t going to be happy with him for busting in on her in the middle of a fitting like that.

Cruella probably wasn’t going to be any happier with him, Gold realized with a shudder. Cruella DeVil – fondly referred to as “the costume designer from Hell” – wasn’t shy about speaking her mind, and she hated nothing more than being interrupted while working her craft. Out of all the people at the Enchanted Forest, Cruella was the only one that Gold actually had a healthy fear of.

Taking a deep breath and wishing once again that he didn’t have a habit of tripping himself up around Belle, he knocked three times on the door.

“We already know you’re there, darling,” Cruella said. “Come in or stay out.”

Gold opened the door but kept his eyes closed. “Is she decent?”

He heard Cruella snort. “More decent than you’ve ever been, I’m sure.”

Opening his eyes, Gold saw the Belle was indeed fully clothed. She stood on a small stool, smirking at him with her arms crossed around her chest. If not for the small blush that seemed to run from her cheeks down her neck, he would have thought her unaffected.

“Come for another peek?” Belle teased.

“No! I was just – I didn’t mean to – you see, I only came here – “

Cruella held up her hands to stop Gold. “If you must prattle, do it around someone else’s eardrums. Mine have been abused enough today as it is.”

Gold saw Belle stifle a laugh at the designer’s antics. She mouthed the name “Killian” to him.

“That awful ruffian – you know who I’m talking about Gold, you dislike him as much as I do – needed his pants fixed. _Again_. He claims he keeps ripping the seams out when he jousts.” Cruella rolled her eyes. “More than likely, he’s off getting his jollies while roleplaying in my beautiful costume.”

“Killian?” Gold asked with a smirk.

“We don’t speak that wretched man’s name,” Cruella replied. “At least, not until I’ve had a tumbler full of gin.”

“Let me guess, he offered to fix your ‘orientation problem’ for you again?”

“I told him the next time he offered to make me straight, I’d cut his hand off.”

“Seems reasonable to me,” Gold said.

Cruella shrugged. “That’s what I thought. Though if he asks again, I might just cut off something a tad _lower_.”

Belle spoke up then. “You know, I _do_ have a friend you might be interested in meeting…”

Cruella waved her off. “Thank you, darling, but I’m happy as I am.” She gave a pointed glance towards Gold. “That one, however, is a different story.”

He put up his hands up in surrender. “No, no. I’ll pass as well.”

“Still reeling from your last blind date, are you?” Cruella smirked.

“Regina’s mother is a force of nature. I’m lucky to be alive.”

Belle cleared her throat. “You’re dating someone?”

“God no,” he said empathically. “I mean…” He noticed Belle eyeing him curiously and it threw him off for a moment. “I’m not dating anyone right now. Especially not _Cora_.”

Belle bit her lip and Gold saw her think about her next question for a moment before she asked, “Why didn’t it work? This is, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Cruella had started to work on Belle’s dress again, but he thought he heard her snicker in response to the question. He hurried to answer before the designer volunteered more information than he was comfortable with.

“Let’s just say it would be less stressful to date a tornado and leave it at that.”

“Oh, I see.” Belle gave a pleased little smile at that. Once again, Gold felt like he was missing the punchline somewhere. It was becoming a rather regular occurrence that week, if he was honest.

Cruella was bustling around the room now, muttering to herself around the pins in her mouth.

Belle and he had fallen into silence and he couldn’t think of a good way to segue into what he had come to talk to her about.

“You look very nice,” he said finally, hoping it didn’t sound as awkward to her ears as it did to his.

Cruella’s snort answered the question for him.

“Why, thank you. I love this dress.” Belle ran her hands down the material. “I really do feel like a princess when I wear it.”

He nodded his agreement. Regina’s dress had been velvet as well, but it had been deep crimson in color. Gold thought the dark green suited Belle far better.

“They _tried_ to tell me to alter Regina’s dress for Belle. I told them to stuff it.” Cruella walked once around Belle and nodded. “The next time they try to tell me how to do my job, they’ll see just how far my tape measure goes up their backside.”

He and Belle exchanged amused glances over Cruella’s head.  

“Honestly, they’re all just philistines,” Cruella muttered, though Gold wasn’t sure if she was talking to them or just reminding herself of the fools she had to put up with on a daily basis.

“Your costumes are lovely, Cruella,” Belle said, before turning back to Gold. “Somehow being in costume makes everything seem more real though.” She placed a hand on her stomach. “I think I can feel the butterflies starting to stir.”

Her words reminded Gold of the news he had to tell her, and he felt his heart sink a bit. If she was already nervous, there was no telling what this news might do to her.

He decided to put it in as positive a light as possible, pasting a large grin on his face as he did so.

“I actually came here to give you some great news. Merlin Emrys, the theater critic from the Storybrooke Daily Mirror, is coming to see the dress rehearsal tonight.”

Belle looked faint and for a moment, Gold contemplated rushing to her side in case he needed to catch her.

Cruella shot him a look that made it clear she thought he was, as usual, an idiot. She patted Belle on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, darling. You’ll be marvelous.”

From the expression on Belle’s face, Gold realized it was going to take a bit more of a pep talk to calm her anxiety.

“Look, I don’t think the performance is going to matter much anyway, Belle. Everyone knows Merlin is head over heels for the lead actress over at The Dagger Theater, so he’s never going to give us that good of a review. In fact, Sidney is always joking that Zozo’s theater is going to put us out of business anytime now.”

He forced a laugh which came out more nervous than he intended.

Both women just _stared_ at him.

“You’re a moron,” Cruella said flatly before turning back to Belle. “Ignore him. He has foot-in-mouth disease.”

When Belle cracked a slight smile, Gold let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

“I’m sorry. I was just trying to – “

Cruella held up a hand. “Not one more word.”

“But – “

“Out!” Cruella pointed to the door with one perfectly manicured hand.

Gold looked back to Belle who was watching the two of them with quiet amusement.

“I’ll see you backstage, Belle,” he said before turning and walking out of the room.

As the door swung closed behind him, he swore he could hear the two of them giggling on the other side.

At some point, he was really going to need to learn how to get through a conversation with Belle without feeling like an idiot.

Unfortunately, Gold didn’t see it happening anytime soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Endangeredslug prompted: Belle gets star struck her first night when she sees Gold in character for the first time in years.

In his ten years of performances, Gold could truthfully say he had never seen a more perfect princess walk onto the stage at The Enchanted Forest.

Belle was _breathtaking_.

In fact, Gold actually had to remind himself to continue to breathe as he stared at her, noticing that even the harsh spotlights did nothing to dim her inner glow.

Between Cruella’s costume and the makeup, Belle had been transformed into the quintessential princess. While Regina had commanded the crowd with her regal presence, Belle exuded the kind of beauty that Gold could imagine nations going to war over.

Their stage manager, Isaac Heller, an unhappy and moody man that actually made Gold feel like a people person in comparison, gave him a quick wave, indicating that it was almost time for his entrance.

Gold nodded in return and began the process of transforming himself into the manipulative and crafty Lord Chancellor. This part of his life hadn’t changed in years and he found himself grateful to have something old and familiar to fall back on, considering how off-kilter he had felt since Belle’s arrival.  

The whole scene couldn’t be more straightforward, he reminded himself. Once Belle welcomed him back from his quest, he would launch into his speech, which explained the current state of affairs of the nearby kingdoms. Gold had repeated the lines so many times over the years that he was certain he could do it in his sleep at this point.

Apart from the already biased critic – whose attendance that night was still a mystery – it was far from a demanding audience that night anyway.

The Enchanted Forest had a long-standing tradition of inviting students from the nearby high school, which was located only a few blocks away, to attend all of their dress rehearsals. It had been early on in his time there when Sidney had started inviting the high schoolers – back when his own daughter Tiana had been one – to come free of charge and give the actors an audience to play off of. It wasn’t the full dinner experience that they gave the paying customers, but Sidney usually gave the kids free popcorn to keep them happy.

Hearing his cue, Gold swept silently onto the stage. His character was usually a hit with the students, so he was hardly surprised when they clapped and whistled loudly at his appearance. He came to stand just a few feet behind Belle, who continued to act oblivious to his presence.  She knew he was there of course, but her character didn’t. When he announced himself in a moment, Belle would pretend to be startled, jumping at his surprise appearance.

His sneaky behavior was one of the first clues to the audience that there was something slightly off about the Chancellor.

“Lord Chancellor!” Belle called out loudly, her voice carrying around the space strong and confidently. “I need to speak with you.”

Gold let a rather wicked grin spread across his face, his voice dipping lower than usual as he spoke. “You called, highness?”

Right on cue, Belle let out a little yelp and jumped. If he hadn’t seen her do it the same way in practice a dozen times, Gold would think he had actually startled her. But Belle was a fine actress, as he was learning. He had watched her first scene from the shadows offstage and her nerves had seemed to vanish the moment she walked out under the bright lights.

“Forgive me, Chancellor,” Belle said, turning towards him as she spoke. “I didn’t hear you come – oh!”

Belle’s eyes grew wide as she stared at him, one hand flying to her chest as her mouth opened and closed rapidly. Gold waited patiently for her to deliver her line, trying to ignore the way her eyes seemed to be burning holes into him as they swept up and down his costume. He began to fret that he had spilled something on it, despite not having eaten anything since he put it on.

“You look so – uh, I mean…”Belle’s voice faltered and she visibly gulped. “You’re…here?”

For a moment, all Gold could do was stare. The idea that Belle had forgotten her lines seemed too absurd for him to process.

It wasn’t until the panic began to creep into her eyes that Gold was able to shake himself out of his stupor. There was no way he was going to let Belle’s first night be an absolute bust. He knew he had to come up with some way to get the scene back on track and quickly – he could tell she was on the edge of hyperventilating.

 “Your speechlessness is understandable.” He flashed her a grin that would have made a car salesman proud. “I often have that effect on women.”

If anything, Belle’s eyes only grew larger at his statement. It was then that Gold truly started to sweat. If Belle didn’t pick up the scene soon, he was going to have a very difficult time carrying on a conversation by himself. He didn’t know what more he could –

“You flatter yourself, my lord. But I have weightier things on my mind than your pretty face.” Belle passed in front of him, giving a tiny wink that only he could see. “Unless it has slipped your mind while on your quest, I do have a kingdom to run.”

Gold let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. “Well, it _was_ a long trip,” he replied rather wryly. “I don’t suppose your highness would care to hear about it?”

“I can think of nothing I’d like better,” Belle said before giving him a smile he could only describe as dazzling. Her relief was almost palpable, and Gold felt a surge of pride at the fact that he – the man who constantly said the wrong thing – had managed to save the situation for once.

He gave her a quick smile in return before launching into his regular monologue. He knew Sidney was probably having a panic attack somewhere backstage at their short jaunt off-script, so he resisted the urge to ignore his lines and explore the situation he and Belle had created further.

“It was a tiresome journey, my lady. But I bring important news for the people of Misthaven…”

The rest of the scene continued without any issues. By the time the performance came to a close, Gold had nearly forgotten about it entirely.

Or at least he would have if Belle hadn’t kept shooting him adoring glances throughout the performance. He had come halfway close to flubbing a few of his own lines whenever that powerhouse of a smile had been directed towards him.

Most importantly, however, was that the audience seemed to have forgotten about the near disaster. The crowd of high schoolers clapped loudly for both Gold and Belle when they took their bows at the end of the night.

He saw the relief pass over Belle’s face as she took in the students’ approval. Her happiness only continued to grow and she looked positively exhilarated as they made their way backstage afterwards, Belle on the arm of the winning knight of the evening – Robin this time – with Gold following directly behind.

She was talking animatedly to Robin, who Gold was fairly sure was merely nodding along as Belle talked a mile a minute, her excitement spilling forth from her in a way that was positively infectious. While he usually got a bit of a high from their first performance of the week, he hadn’t felt this much of a rush in years. Clearly, Belle’s excitement _was_ contagious.

They had a few minutes before they needed to go meet with the audience to sign autographs and pose for photos. Gold came to stand by Belle as Robin made his way towards his wife, who had just joined them backstage. 

“Feeling good?” he asked Belle, trying and failing to keep the smirk off his face.

“I feel amazing!” Belle exclaimed, her eyes alight. “Have you ever been so happy you could just explode?”

“Well, I suppose if you count – “ Gold paused, just barely catching himself before he embarrassed himself again by oversharing. “Uh, no. I suppose I haven’t.”

Belle’s eyes twinkled and for one terrifying moment, he was sure she had correctly interrupted his near innuendo. But then she began to speak again, and Gold gave a deep sigh of relief.

“I thought for sure I was done for out there. But you saved me.”

He was about to tell her that it was no matter, but the brief touch of her hand on his arm silenced him better than a sword to the neck.

“I really appreciated what you did,” Belle continued. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

All he could do was shake his head and give her a weak smile in return.

“It’s fitting in a way, I guess,” Belle added. “The first time I saw you perform was during one of these dress rehearsals. My class was invited to see the show and – “ She gestured between the two of them. “Here we are now!”

Gold felt a nervous laugh bubble out of his chest and through his lips. He had forgotten how young Belle had been when she first saw him perform. She had mentioned it when they first met, but that had been before he had realized how wonderful she was. Before he had realized that Jefferson was right – that he may, sort of, in some _tiny_ way, fancy the hell out of Belle.

It made him feel like a dirty old man.

“Yes, here we are,” he parroted back, his brain clearly not trusting him to do anything more than repeat Belle’s words.

Thankfully, Belle didn’t seem to notice. Perhaps she was becoming desensitized to his foot-in-mouthness, he thought grimly. She began to speak again, and he shoved his morose thoughts to the back of his mind firmly.

“I still can’t believe I froze like that though.” Belle bit her lip in the habit he had been studiously trying to ignore for the past few days. “I’m so mad at myself for letting it happen while that critic was here.”

Without even thinking, he reached for her hand, pulling it between both of his. “Don’t worry. He’s a fool if he doesn’t recognize star quality when he sees it.”

Her smile could have lit a thirteen-story office building. “You think?”

“I know it,” he said genuinely, squeezing her hand for emphasis. 

As his luck would have it, Jefferson decided to pass by at that moment. Gold saw him pause, glancing at where Gold was holding Belle’s hand. The other man shot him a knowing look.

“Uh-huh, _sure_ ,” Jefferson drawled, before walking off without another word.

Gold dropped Belle’s hand like a hot coal and looked away quickly. He saw her shooting him a shy glance out of the corner of his eye.

“What was that all about?”

He cleared his throat. “Tourette's?”

Belle’s skeptical look told him she wasn’t fooled. Fortunately, she didn’t press the issue and he was saved by Emma coming over to congratulate Belle.

He excused himself and made his way over to Regina, who met him halfway, a fairly amused look on her face. Gold had a fleeting thought of just walking past her, denying her whatever malicious joy she was about to extract from teasing him.

“That was certainly an interesting bit of improv you did earlier.” Regina’s smile was too wide for his comfort – in fact, it made his stomach curdle. “I didn’t even know the Chancellor knew how to flirt.”

He tried to glare her down, but he had the feeling he was wasting his energy. “It was just a line, Regina. Don’t go reading anything into it.”

“I think you _like_ her.”

“Don’t be preposterous.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “The fact that you’re using words like “preposterous” means I’m right. And you know it.”

“I know nothing of the sort.”

“And that’s exactly the problem, Don Juan.”

Her face took on a more serious expression a moment later. When she spoke next, her voice lacked its usual sarcastic tone.

"Just be careful there.” She nodded towards Belle.

He put a hand to his chest. "Why, I didn’t realize you cared!" he said, fluttering his eyelashes at her.

Regina snorted. “You wish,” she fired back rapidly. “I’m merely protecting my best interests. I can’t have you enjoying yourself onstage without me, after all.”

Gold glanced past her to where Belle stood, surrounded by various members of the cast, the rush of a first show still evident in her elated expression.

“Of course not,” he lied smoothly. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Dedicated to B_does_the_write_thing. Without all her help, this chapter would probably still be sitting in the corner, feeling sorry for itself. 
> 
> Also, BIG THANKS to everyone who helped this story win Best Mr. Gold in the 2016 TEAs! I adore each and every one of you!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle reflects on the path that led her back to The Enchanted Forest.

Belle felt as if her childhood dream had come true as she posed for yet another photo with fans after the show. 

Less than ten years ago, she had been the one asking to have her program signed and standing in line for a picture with cast members. Now she was the one on the receiving end of teenage squealing. 

It seemed fitting that everything had come full circle tonight. Now that the performance was over, she realized that it had been part of the reason she’d been so nervous. The first show she had ever attended had been a dress rehearsal just like this one when she had been a student. It had also been the performance where she’d seen Gold onstage for the first time.  

That was the night everything had changed and the acting bug had truly bit her. She’d done a bit of theatre in high school before that, but never considered it as an actual career. Her plan had been to study library science at a big university, preferably somewhere far from her well-meaning, but controlling father. He’d thoroughly approved of her plan to become a librarian - a nice, safe career path for his shy and timid daughter.

That plan had dissolved after she’d seen Gold prowl around the stage as the evil Chancellor. Watching him revel in the villainy of the character, Belle had realized she didn’t just want to read about complicated and layered characters, she wanted to bring them to life.

She’d told Gold before that his performance had inspired her to become an actress, but she’d left out a few details. Like the part where teenage Belle had stood in line for twenty minutes to get her picture taken with him after the show and how she’d gotten woozy from merely standing in his presence. 

Of course, he’d been sweet about the whole thing. Had he been as nasty as his character, Belle doubted she would have developed such a crush. But the difference between the devious man on stage and the kind one before her had been the final straw. Her teen heart had fallen head over heels for the older actor then and there.  

They’d taken a photo with her old polaroid camera and she’d told him of her newfound dream of acting. He’d smiled encouragingly as she talked, letting her ramble on for several minutes before signing her program with a message to follow her heart wherever it led. 

The phrase had become her mantra through the next several months of school. Through her arguments with her father about her major. Through four years of theatre courses and plays in tiny theatres that barely drew a crowd. 

Was it a coincidence that her heart had led her back to where it all began? Or was it fate? Either way, Belle was determined to find out. 

One of her biggest worries in getting the job had been meeting Gold again. She’d built him up so much in her mind that she’d braced herself for disappointment when she met him again. 

He hadn’t been what she expected. The tongue-tied, awkward man she was getting to know was miles away from the confident, enigmatic actor she had idolized for years. He was still that man onstage, of course. Stepping out into the spotlight seemed to transform him, allow him to be someone different than he was in his day-to-day life. But the real Gold was rather shy, prone to tripping over his words and making terrible jokes. Far from being disappointed, Belle actually preferred this version. He was more relatable, more real to her than the idealized version she’d fantasized about all these years. 

Even now, amidst the compliments she was receiving about her dress and performance, she was having trouble keeping her eyes from straying to him. He’d come to her aid when she’d floundered on stage and she didn’t know how she could ever pay him back. 

The irony was that it had been the sight of him in his full costume - everything from the fur-lined cloak that billowed behind him to the leather breeches that clung in all the right places - that had caused her brain to short circuit in the first place. If he ever found out how many times she’d imagined a similar scene in her daydreams over the years, he’d be tongue tied for sure. 

None of his signature awkwardness existed now though. Like onstage, Gold was in his element with the fans. He had a small horde of teenage girls hanging off his every word. He clearly loved being the center of attention, his smile wide and his gestures much more flamboyant than usual now that he had a riveted audience.

At least she knew she didn’t have to feel silly for her reaction now. The teens crowded around him were clearly just as in awe of him as she had been back then. In hindsight, perhaps she should have realized that seeing him again on stage in full costume would have the same effect on her as it had all those years ago. Gold and she had practiced the scene many times together since she’d started, but the combination of the lights, stage, and costume had magically transported her back to that night when she’d first laid eyes on him. 

Yet another reason why theatres shouldn’t do their dress rehearsal in front of a live audience, she thought wryly. They were lucky that she only forgot her lines. If she hadn’t been busy panicking, she might have jumped the Chancellor’s well-dressed bones onstage instead. 

“Is there something going on between the Chancellor and the Princess?”

Belle’s full attention snapped back to the three girls she had just taken a photo with. “I’m sorry?”

The girl who had spoken was petite with a shoulder-length brown bob. Her arms were crossed over her chest in a relaxed posture and her smile seemed all too knowing for someone so young.

“I asked if the Chancellor and the Princess had a thing for each other.”

“Uh,” Belle stalled for time to think, acutely aware that she had several pairs of inquiring eyes upon her. “Not to my knowledge. There’s nothing in the script to indicate that.” 

“Huh.” The girl seemed to think that over for a moment. “So it’s just you and Gold that are – ”

“Friends,” Belle blurted out before the girl could finish her sentence. “Just friends.”

Despite her wish that they could one day be more than that, Belle wasn’t about to admit that to a high school know-it-all. Unfortunately, the teen’s keen eyesight wasn’t Belle’s biggest problem. If her attraction to Gold had been that obvious from the audience, how in the world could the man himself have missed it? 

Her gaze darted over to him again and this time their eyes met. Belle blushed and dropped her gaze immediately, hoping he wouldn’t read anything into it. To her horror, she looked up to see that he had excused himself from his fans and was making his way over to her. 

As nervous as she was at the moment, she didn’t miss the way the girls around her straightened, each perking up at the approach of the infamous Evil Chancellor. 

“Dear god, he’s gorgeous,” one girl whispered, tugging on her long brown curls excitedly.

The third teen, a blonde with a cheeky grin and an English accent, elbowed her friend with a laugh. “Thirsty much, Jacinda?” 

Gold, oblivious to the fervor awaiting him, smiled widely as he joined them. “Good evening, ladies.” 

“Evening.”

“Hi.”

“Good indeed.”

Gold’s smile faltered for a second before quickly recovering. “Ladies, do you mind if I borrow my co-star for a moment?” 

All three girls giggled, shaking their heads enthusiastically.  

Still in a slight daze from the last few minutes, Belle nodded politely at the girls before gratefully following Gold as he led her away from the group. They ducked into a hallway off of the main room that lead towards the staff rooms, giving them some temporary privacy from the crowd. 

“Thank you,” Belle said once they were out of sight, sinking back against the wall with a sigh of relief. 

Gold chuckled. “You looked a bit panicked. I figured you could use a break.” He leaned against the wall next to her, gazing at her with amusement. 

With only a few inches between them, Belle’s heart began to speed up once again. She immediately scolded herself for reacting in such a way. Was she no better than those lovestruck teenagers she had just been talking to? 

From the way her heart was racing, probably not. 

“They weren’t horrible,” she finally said. “Just a bit intense. And nosey.” 

Standing this close to him, Belle noticed for the first time how good Gold smelled. Though romance novels tended to describe a man’s scent with at least three different descriptors - sandalwood almost always being one of them - Belle didn’t think she could describe Gold’s scent in any more detail than “slightly sweaty, but nice man smell”. With further study perhaps she could get more specific, but she somehow doubted Gold would appreciate her shoving her nose in his personal space and sniffing him up and down like a bloodhound. 

Before he could ask any more about the students, Belle hastened to add, “I’m sure you’ve had your share of crazy fans.” 

He laughed, but the sound was a bit strained. As comfortable as Gold seemed with the fans, Belle was surprised that someone could unnerve him that much. 

“You’d be right about that,” he said. “Most are harmless, but there’s been one or two troublemakers over the years. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do.” He shook off the thought. “But let’s not talk about that. We should be talking about you on your big night,” he said, gently bumping his shoulder against hers.  

Belle flushed, more at the contact than from his teasing. 

“Well, so far you’ve had to rescue me from myself twice.” Belle kept her tone light as she rested her shoulder against his, hoping she wasn’t being too forward. “If it happens a third time, I’m afraid I’m going to have to give you my firstborn in exchange.” 

To Belle’s delight, Gold leaned in. “I’m sure we could come up with something less….” he paused, searching for the right word. “...stinky.” 

Belle let out a whoop of laughter, clapping her hand over her mouth a moment later. Gold’s eyes sparkled in return. 

“Quiet,” he warned. “They might find you.”

She removed her hand. “They’re teenage girls, not hyenas.” 

He shrugged. “Could have fooled me.” 

Belle didn’t argue, since Gold was more right than he knew. She hoped she hadn’t been that obvious when they first met. As shy as she had been back then, she at least knew she hadn’t been that direct. 

Glancing back at the lobby, Belle was torn between continuing her conversation with Gold and knowing that her job required her to return to her guests. She sighed. “I suppose our duty is to return to our paying customers now. Hopefully those horrid girls are gone.” 

“I can beat them off with my sword, if you like.” 

Belle smothered a chuckle. “No, I think they might enjoy that too much.” At Gold’s confused look, she quickly added, “Never mind. I think I’m fine.” 

“You sure?” he asked, concern evident in his expression. 

Belle’s insides melted but she managed to stop herself from throwing her arms around him in response. She leaned towards him conspiratorially. “I think I can slay the next few dragons.” 

“I know you can, Belle.” His eyes twinkled. “In fact, I’d like to see someone try and stop you once you’ve made up your mind.” 

His words oddly choked her up and Belle blinked away a tear before Gold could see. She didn’t want to have to explain what getting his approval meant, because she barely understood it herself. It wasn’t just because Gold was so talented or because she had a crush on him. The Enchanted Forest was the theatre where her dream of acting had begun. Here, more than anywhere, she wanted to prove herself. If she could prove her worth to everyone in the cast, especially the man who had inspired her down this path in the first place, then maybe she’d finally believe she had made the right decision to pursue acting. 

She didn’t hold out hope that her dad would ever be convinced or that Maurice would suddenly forget his intense dislike for the theatre that had robbed his daughter of her respectable future. But it would be enough for Belle to know that her choice to become an actress had been brave and not foolhardy, after all. 

“Shall we?” she asked, entwining her arm around Gold’s. 

“Where my lady leads, I shall follow.” 

Belle ducked her head, hoping he didn’t see the goofy smile forming on her face. If she was lucky, he might just mean those words one day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to B-does-the-write-thing for her birthday! She asked for me to bring this verse back for her and after much deliberation (and a lovely comment from Trash which convinced me that at least one other person besides B was still reading this story), I decided to update this long neglected project. There's even another chapter written and ready to go for next week, so look for that update as well!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The review of Belle's first show is in and it's...not good.

_With a set scarcely more medieval than a Burger King and a script so boring even the cast couldn’t be bothered to remember it, it’s safe to say my time at The Enchanted Forest was yet again far from magical._

_Having previously learned the hard way how inferior the menu was there, I opted to attend the dinner-less dress rehearsal instead. The crowd of overexcited teenagers wasn’t the most enjoyable of company, but it beat having to stomach another overdone turkey leg._

_The building, both inside and out, is in need of a good facelift. I strongly suspect the decor and uncomfortable seating haven’t been updated since the 80’s. Unfortunately, neither has the script, apart from some unconvincing adlibbing._

_Even the performance of long-time veteran, Reginald Gold – usually the one bright spot in an otherwise bleak production – was underwhelming. I had hoped the cast’s new princess, Belle French, would at least liven the show up, but unfortunately, she turned out to be very much like her lines – absolutely forgettable._

Gold crumpled the Daily Mirror into a tight ball and threw it across the room with disgust.

He hadn’t expected a glowing review after last night’s performance, but this was worse than he’d imagined. Merlin Emrys had always had a high opinion of himself, despite the fact that he wasn’t even a real theatre critic. Though Storybrooke was lucky enough to have two theatres – The Enchanted Forest and a small independent theatre called The Dagger - it was hardly large enough to warrant a full time critic. Merlin covered anything that could possibly fall under the category of entertainment, which meant anything from restaurants to the annual Miner’s Day festival was game.

Though he agreed with Merlin that the script needed updating, he was too angry with the rest of the review to give the man much credit. Gold would be lying if he said the slight towards himself didn’t sting, but he was more worried about Belle’s reaction. He knew she’d take the review hard, most likely thinking the entire thing was her fault somehow.

With a glance at the clock on the wall, he got up from his seat with a sigh, trying to push the review from his mind as he prepared for rehearsal. After the slightly rocky start the night before, August wanted them to run through a couple scenes that morning before their performance later that day.

The door to Sidney's office was open as Gold walked by and he caught a glance of both the theatre owner and his daughter Tiana inside. They were frowning at the open newspaper before them, leaving little doubt in Gold’s mind what article they were reading. 

Tiana looked up as he passed, her usually bright smile somewhat dimmed. He gave her a wave, planning to continue on his way, until the older man caught sight of him.

“Just the man I wanted to see,” Sidney said. He beckoned Gold into the office with a hurried gesture before taking a seat behind his desk. "Shut the door, please."

Gold's eyebrows raised, but he closed the door without comment. He exchanged looks with Tiana, who shrugged in return as she leaned against her father's desk.

"I assume you've seen this?" Sidney jabbed his finger at Merlin's review.

"Of course," Gold replied, his voice much calmer than he felt. He settled into one of the two chairs in front of Sidney's desk. "But I doubt it will hurt us too much. People don’t come here expecting Shakespeare. As long as they get their turkey legs and a fun sword fight, they’re happy. Besides, it's not the first bad review we've ever gotten, and I’m sure it won't be the last."

Sidney sighed, his shoulders slumping. "It may well be."

Gold leaned forward anxiously. "Is the theater in that much trouble?"

“I’m afraid it is. I’m sure you’ve noticed that sales have been getting steadily worse,” Sidney said wearily. “We just can’t get the crowds in like we used to. Even the tourists aren’t as interested anymore.” He stared down at the review glumly. “I had hoped Belle would be a good replacement for Regina, but perhaps we made a mistake in casting someone so unseasoned.”

Gold opened his mouth to speak, but Tiana beat him to it. “Dad, she flubbed the beginning of one scene. If we go by that standard, you’re going to have to fire David for constantly walking the wrong way offstage.”

Sidney nodded thoughtfully. “I guess you’re right.”

Tiana shot Gold a knowing smile, which he returned with a grateful nod. Of the two of them, she was by far the more diplomatic, especially when it came to dealing with Sidney’s insecurities. Gold was well aware that she had saved him from saying something to his boss in frustration that he might have regretted later.

After taking a few seconds to gather his thoughts, Gold voiced the thought that had been turning around in his mind all morning. It wasn’t a new idea by any means, but Merlin’s review had convinced him that it was now more important than ever.

“I don’t think it’s a problem with the cast, Sid. Like Merlin said, the show hasn’t changed in a long time. A rewrite would probably be our best bet.”

Sidney shook his head. “No, this format has worked for us for years. People love this story; it’s what keeps them coming back. We just need to pepper in some new tricks, something that will get the crowds in the door.” His eyes lit up with excitement and he snapped his fingers. “Doesn’t Regina have some experience with pyrotechnics?”

Gold bit back a sigh and made a show of looking at his watch. “Would you look at the time! I really need to get to practice.”

“Of course. Don’t let me keep you,” Sidney said, only half paying attention. Gold could tell the other man was already making a mental list of flammable materials with which to bring down the house.

He really hoped Sidney knew that phrase was a figure of speech.

After whispering “good luck” to Tiana, he made his way back out into the hallway, his thoughts rather heavy as he walked towards rehearsal.

As focused as he was on the news Sidney had told him, it took him a moment to register the hurried footsteps coming up behind him. Gold turned around, surprised to see Tiana walking quickly towards him.

He paused, waiting until she caught up before continuing his walk. There was a determined look on her face that he knew all too well. In the ten years he’d worked there, he’d seen Tiana grow from a quiet and unsure teenager into a confident and competent business woman. Though she had only completed her degree in theatre management earlier that year, he could already tell she was going to be a huge asset to the company.

She looped her arm through his, falling into step with him.

“Has he ordered the fireworks yet?” Gold quipped.

Tiana chuckled. “I’ll hide his credit card if it comes to that. But I think we have a much easier solution to our problems.”

His eyebrows drew together. “And that would be?”

“Well,” she continued, clearly enjoying his puzzlement, “what the review didn’t mention was the definite buzz around here after last night’s performance.”

Gold snorted. “You make it sound like the bloody Oscars. Forgive me if the five second attention span of teenagers doesn’t reassure me.”

“Skeptical as always. You’re almost as bad as dad.”

He couldn’t really argue with that. As it stood, he wasn’t really sure how they were going to change their fortune, especially if Sidney spent what remaining budget they had destroying the building.

As they reached the rehearsal room, Tiana turned to face him.

“I think what you said earlier was right. We need to shake things up around here if we want anything to change.”

“Any suggestions?” Despite his skepticism about the future, he trusted Tiana’s instincts.

“Perhaps more improv? The crowd always loved when you and Regina would play off one another.” A hint of a smirk played across her lips and Gold realized she had been planning to tell him this all along. “From the comments I overheard yesterday, quite a few high school girls went nuts over the tension between the Chancellor and the Princess.”

Before Gold could ask what she meant by that, Tiana continued. “Trust me, Gold. You and Belle have good chemistry on stage. Despite what Merlin said, I think you need to play that up as much as possible.”

She gave him a wink before turning to walk back down the hall.

“Tiana,” Gold called out. “What kind of tension?”

Her face lit up mischievously. “I’m no cook, but I’m pretty sure it’s the kind you could cut with a butter knife.”

She skipped off, leaving him frozen in front of the rehearsal room, his hand raised halfway to open the door.

Distracted as he was by his own thoughts, he didn’t notice the door swing open until it almost hit him in the face. He dodged out of the way, coming face to face with a wide-eyed Belle.

“Oh, shit!” Belle gasped, as she stumbled to a halt. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there.” She nodded towards the newspaper under her arm. “I was a bit distracted.” 

It was then that he noticed the puffiness under her eyes. Gold’s blood began to boil. 

“He’s an idiot,” he spat. “Couldn’t tell a sword from a drumstick.” He leaned closer, making sure he was looking her directly in the eye as he spoke. “You are going to be a fantastic princess, Belle.” 

“You really think so?” she asked hopefully. 

Gold offered her his arm, a sudden desire to see Belle laugh again rising within him. “Of course! Would a loyal servant of his majesty lie, your highness?” 

His gamble worked. Belle let out a surprised chuckle. “You’re terrible.” However, as she took his arm, some of her unease seemed to vanish. “Thank you.” She glanced at him shyly. “You always know how to make me feel better.” 

His chest swelled with pride. “Any time.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Next chapter is half written so hopefully that will be ready by next week as well! Let's see how long I can keep the weekly update thing going! *screams internally*


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bellegold prompted: Could something with the set malfunction so Gold has to catch Belle a la Skin Deep?

Gold gazed proudly up at the raised platform where Belle stood, performing her scene flawlessly. The past week of performances had passed by uneventfully, and she had finally had a chance to settle into her role, becoming more comfortable each night. 

He didn’t have another scene until the second act, but he couldn’t resist taking the opportunity to watch from offstage. From where he stood just behind the curtain, he had a perfect view of Belle without being visible to the crowd. 

The scene was one of the more exposition-heavy parts of the show. The princess and the king were discussing the information that Gold’s character had given them about the neighboring kingdoms. Unfortunately for them, the Chancellor had lied about pretty much everything. Later in the show, that would become obvious to everyone when he led a war party into the kingdom and was defeated by one of the king’s loyal knights, an honor which fell to a different knight each show. 

Leopold cleared his throat, a habit August had been trying to rid him of for five years. The older man liked to make sure people knew when he was making a kingly statement. 

“Do not fret, my child,” he said to Belle, as she stood at the edge of the platform, looking down on the make-believe kingdom. “Our troubles are long past us. Now is a time of peace.” 

A murmured shout came from the audience, followed by a bunch of laughter and some more shouting. Gold watched in dismay as Belle’s head turned towards the commotion, momentarily distracted from her scene, and unconsciously took a step towards the edge. 

His dismay turned to panic as Belle’s heel slipped and she wobbled precariously on the platform. She tried to regain her balance, reaching out a hand for the railing, but it was too late. With a scream, Belle fell from the platform. 

The entire audience gasped as she landed directly in Gold’s waiting arms. 

He grunted as he caught her full weight, staggering a bit from the impact but managing to keep them both upright. He stared down at her blankly, unclear when he had made the decision to rush out and catch her. He couldn’t even remember running onstage. Yet here she was, warm and uninjured in his arms.

Belle looked at him with wide, startled eyes. He shifted her in his arms, unsure of what to do next. He was hyper aware of two things. First, that he was holding Belle French in his arms and second, that he now had the undivided attention of the entire audience.

A loud whistle came from the stands followed by laughter. That was enough to push Gold into action. 

“You really should be more careful, princess. Danger lurks everywhere.” 

He set her down gently on her feet, making sure that she was indeed unhurt. She looked fine, but he had no qualms about stopping the show if that’s what she needed. 

Belle still looked a bit shaken, and Gold wondered if perhaps they should stop, when she finally spoke.

“Thank goodness I can always count on your assistance, my friend.” Belle’s eyes began to sparkle again, and Gold sighed quietly with relief. “Our kingdom is blessed to have you.”

He smirked at her words. Not only was Belle improvising, but she was playing into the princess’s ignorance of the Chancellor’s true motives and character. Perhaps Tiana was right and they should work on some more improv. 

But that was a thought for another time. He wasn’t actually in this scene and needed to get offstage as quickly as possible. As much as he liked the idea of whisking Belle offstage to make sure she hadn’t hurt herself, he had a feeling she wouldn’t allow that, even if she wasn’t completely fine. 

“I live to serve, your majesty,” he said, his voice taking on a slightly mocking tone. He bowed deeply as he slowly backed offstage. The last thing he saw was Belle’s mouth twitch as she tried to keep a straight face. 

It wasn’t until he was safely backstage and out of sight that he was able to relax, breathing in and out several times. He waved off everyone who approached him, needing a moment to himself to recover. 

The second Belle walked backstage he pounced on her, his eyes frantically scanning her for anything amiss. 

“Are you alright?” he asked. “Should we call a doctor? I have my cell phone right here.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it up.

Belle stared at the flip phone dumbly, as if she wasn’t sure what she was seeing. It made Gold nervous. Was it possible she had injured her head somehow? 

She blinked as if coming out of a daze and shook her head. “No, I’m fine.” 

His disbelief must have shown on his face, because she reached out and squeezed his arm reassuringly. 

“Really, I’m fine! My guardian angel was clearly waiting in the wings to save me from breaking a leg. Literally.” 

Belle chuckled at her own joke but it did nothing to reassure Gold. A bead of sweat began to trail down his face. He had no good excuse for why he had been nearby. If Belle asked him why he was there, what was he going to say? He suddenly had a mad impulse to run back onstage. 

“I seem to be racking up quite a bit of debt with you recently.” She took a step forward, biting her lip. “I probably owe you a drink or two after this latest rescue.” 

Alcohol was the last thing Gold needed right now. He cringed at how easy it would be to let something slip about his feelings for Belle over a drink or two. There was no way he was going anywhere near a beer if Belle was nearby. 

“That’s not necessary,” he said cheerfully, despite the turning of his stomach. “I was just doing my job.”

His job hardly required him to catch beautiful young women before they plunged to their death, but that was beside the point. Besides, he was sure Belle had better things to do with her free evenings than drink with an old man like him. 

“Oh.” Belle’s smile faltered a bit. “Alright then.” 

Gold wondered if he had offended her, but before he could think on it for too long, Belle shrugged and pointed further backstage. 

“I should probably go touch up my makeup,” she said with a self-conscious laugh. “I think most of it fell off my face when I fell off the platform.” 

Gold nodded eagerly at her words and stepped out of her way. “Good idea. We wouldn’t want you to go out there without your face on.” He frowned as he realized how that might sound. “Not that you need makeup. You look...just fine...without it.” 

“Thanks,” Belle said, her confusion clear on her face as she turned and walked past him towards the dressing rooms. Gold decided it was best to let her go. If he tried to explain further, he’d just dig himself into a deeper hole. It was better that Belle think him an inarticulate fool than an old pervert. 

He sighed. He’d been doing so well recently that he’d thought he’d finally overcome his tendency to butcher the English language around Belle. 

Perhaps Cruella was right about it being a disease. At least then there was hope for a cure.

 

* * *

 

Belle felt like a complete idiot as she stood in the lobby greeting fans. Despite the happy faces around her, she couldn’t stop thinking about her failed attempt to ask Gold out earlier that evening. 

She’d completely misread the situation, mistaking his blushing and nervousness around her for romantic interest. She still couldn’t believe she’d been so stupid. Of course, the man was flushed and rattled; he’d just saved her from a broken neck or worse! 

The moment when he had caught her and held her tight to his chest had seemed to last a lifetime instead of just a few seconds. Belle had been so sure that something had passed between them as they’d gazed at each other. But it appeared that once again, her hopes were blinding her to reality. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t matter what her brain was telling her. Just the memory of being cradled in his arms was enough to make her heart race and her face flush. Once again she was finding it hard to focus on her current task as thoughts of Gold flooded her mind. 

Thankfully there weren’t too many more fans in line to greet. Having done this several times now, Belle was able to smile and pose while her mind played through the events of the night on repeat. 

As she looked up to greet the next person in line, Belle bit back a smile at the sight before her. A dark haired woman was towing her young son along determinedly by the hand, as the boy purposely studied the carpet beneath them. 

“Hello, I’m Marian and this is my son, Roland.” The woman gave Belle an apologetic smile before looking pointedly at the boy. “He has something he wants to say to you.” When her son remained silent, she asked more firmly. “Isn’t that right, Roland?”

Roland shrugged, looking down at the carpet again. “I wanted to say sorry for causing a co-commo-commotion,” he stuttered, his expression growing slightly proud as he finished the word. “I just really like the bad guy.” 

Belle looked to Marian for an explanation. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.” 

Marian looked slightly embarrassed. “We’re usually seated in the Green Knight’s section when we visit so we can cheer on his father, Robin. But tonight, we were put in the Black Knight’s section. When Roland found out we’d be cheering for Gold, he got a bit excited.” Marian blushed slightly. “When Leopold said his line about it being a time of piece, Roland jumped up from his seat and shouted – ”

“I said, ‘No peace! War! War!’” Roland interrupted, grinning widely. 

“It appears we have yet another thespian in the family,” Marian grumbled good naturedly. “Anyway, we just wanted to apologize for startling you on stage. We’re so glad you’re not hurt.” 

“Yeah, I’m really sorry.” Roland said sheepishly. “I guess I got carried away.” 

Belle crouched down until she was eye level with the boy. “It’s quite alright. But I appreciate you letting me know.” 

Roland gave her a huge smile. “You’re an even nicer princess than Mama Regina!” 

Out of the corner of her eye, Belle saw Marian cover a laugh by clearing her throat. She gave her son’s hand a squeeze. “Honey, why don’t you run back to Mama Guin and let her know I’ll be there in a minute? I want to talk to Belle.”

With a wave at Belle, Roland dashed off to the other side of the room where another woman was waiting for him. Belle watched him go fondly. She’d known Regina and Robin had split custody of his son, but she hadn’t known that he was so adorable.

“I don’t want to take up too much of your time,” Marian said, gesturing to the line behind her. “ I just wanted to say how happy I am about you and Gold.” 

Belle’s full attention snapped back to Marian. “I’m sorry - what?”

“Regina mentioned something the other day, but I didn’t know whether to believe it or not until I saw the show. You know how Regina can be sometimes.” Marian continued, oblivious to Belle’s confusion. “But Guinevere and I both noticed it the moment you two were on stage together.” Her smile wavered as she saw the look on Belle’s face. “Oh, I’m sorry! Are you keeping it a secret for now?”

“Um, I don’t – “ Belle stumbled to find the right words. “There’s no secret – ”

Marian looked relieved. “Thank goodness! Guinevere is always saying I don’t pick up on subtleties very well. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you how happy I am for you both. Gold’s always been so supportive of our family, even during the divorce when he was having his own relationship troubles. I’m just so glad he finally found someone who looks at him the way you do.” 

Belle opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. First the high school students and now Marian had been able to read her feelings from across the auditorium. If she was completely incapable of hiding her silly crush from the audience, maybe she wasn’t cut out to be an actress, after all. 

Roland ran back up to them breathlessly. “Mama Guin told me to come get you before you talked Belle’s ear off.” He smiled cheekily, clearly aware he wasn’t supposed to repeat the second part of his stepmother’s statement. 

His mother chuckled. “Duty calls. Have a good night, Belle.”

Belle nodded faintly as they walked away. “I’ll try.” 

She stared at the remaining folks in line and inwardly sighed, hoping there wouldn’t be any more surprises that night. At this rate, she was going to need to buy herself a drink. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to tinuviel-undomiel for unknowingly inspiring part of this chapter.


End file.
